Door catch assembly



Feb. 20, 1968 E. M. WEBSTER 3,369,832

DOOR CATCH AS SEMBLY Filed Jan. 24, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l :iiiL."

Feb. 20, 1968 E. M. WEBSTER 3,369,832,

DOOR CATCH AS SEMBLY Filed Jan. 24, 1 966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent 3,369,832 DOOR CATCH ASSEMBLY Edward M. Webster, Rockford, Ill.,assignor to National Lock Co., Rockford, 11]., a corporation of DelawareFiled Jan. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 522,466 1 Claim. (Cl. 292-78) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLQSURE A catch assembly utilized adjacent the hinged edge of acabinet door or for sliding doors or drawers providing a positive actioncatch having a mounting bracket on the enclosure perpendicular to theplane of the door with a central elongated cutout having opposed endtabs and an opening adjacent the edge of the bracket removed from thedoor. A generally rectangular pivotally mounted member is disposedparallel and aligned with the bracket and has a pivot pin extending intothe opening of the bracket and an aligned elongated cutout with endtabs; the aligned cutouts receiving a compression spring. The pivotallymounted member also has a lateral projection forming a retaining hookwhich cooperates with a roller or a strike mounted on the movable dooror drawer.

The present invention relates to a novel catch mechanism adaptable tovarious applications upon cabinets and doors, sliding doors and drawerslides, and more particularly to a positive action catch having a selfclosing or pull-in action which may be used with a strike travelling inan arcuate path or a straight line.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a catchmechanism having a pivotal action member or hook and a reciprocating oroscillating strike member. The hook includes a curved camming surfaceadapted to be engaged by movement of the strike toward the hook and asecond surface which intersects the camming surface at a high pointforming the hook; the second surface retaining the strike in closedposition. The hook is normally biased to the position retaining thestrike but can be pivoted against the biasing force when the strikeengages the camming surface or when the strike is pulled away from thehook.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a catchmechanism which can be utilized with a strike travelling in a straightline, such as for a sliding door or drawer slide, or in an arcuate pathfor swinging hinged doors on a cabinet. The strike is generally mountedupon the door or drawer and the catch is mounted on the cabinet frame.The engaging member of the strike and the action member of the catch areboth preferably formed of a plastic material to reduce friction andpromote ease of engagement.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a catchmechanism having a bracket secured to the cabinet frame and having acentral opening with opposed tabs. The action member or hook ispivotally mounted on the bracket and has an aligned identical tabbedcutout. A compression spring is received in the aligned cutouts witheach end of the spring receiving the aligned tabs on the hook andbracket. The spring provides yieldable biasing of the hook which allowsthe hook to pivot relative to the bracket when engaged by the strike.

The present invention further comprehends the provision of a catchmechanism which may be combined with the hinge structure for a metalcabinet and door.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity,efficiency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such furtherobjects, advantages, and capabilities as will later more fully appearand are inherently possessed thereby.

Patented Feb. 20, 1968 In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial top plan view of the novel catch mechanism andstrike utilized on a metal cabinet and door; the right-hand catch andstrike being shown.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the catch mechanism similar to FIG. 1, butwith the door in partially open position.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the catch mecha-- nism taken ontheline 33 of FIG. 1 but with the cabinet and door omitted.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the catch taken on the line 44 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the catch mechanism and hinge with thestrike engaging the hook of the catch.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the hook.

FIG. 7 is a partial bottom plan view of a modified catch and strike asapplied to a flush wooden door on a Wooden cabinet.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the catch and strike taken on theline 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partial bottom plan View of the catch and strike mechanismof FIG. 7 as applied to a recessed wooden door.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the catch and strike taken on theline 1010 of FIG.'9.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings whereinare shown illustrative embodiments of the present invention, FIGS. 1 and2 disclose a metal cabinet 10 having one or more metal doors 11 mountedon the cabinet 10 by hinges 12. Both the metal door 11 and the cabinet10 have hollow walls to conceal substantially all of the hinge l2 andcatch mechanism 13. The hinge 12 includes a door flange 14 which extendsinto and is secured in the door by screws 15 or other suitable fasteningmeans; the flange 14 having a pivot mounting portion at the outer end.The cabinet flange 16 is mounted within the cabinet frame by suitablesecuring means such as screws 17, and has an outwardly extending portion18 parallel to the door flange 14. A rivet 19 provides a pivotconnection for the hinge and extends through the portion 18 and thepivot mounting portion of the door flange 14.

Also secured within the hollow cabinet frame is the mounting bracket 21for the catch mechanism 13. The bracket is provided with a mountingflange 22 having a vertical channel or inset 23 containing an opening 24for a mounting screw and an offset portion 25 mounted over the cabinetflange 16 of the hinge 12 and having openings 26 receiving the screws17. The main portion 27 of the bracket 21 is perpendicular to the flange22 and includes a central, generally rectangular cutout 28 and anopening 29 adjacent the edge of the portion opposite flange 22.Oppositely disposed tabs 31' and 32 extend inward into the cutout 28,the tab 31 being rounded and tab 32 having the general configuration ofa rhomboid.

Mounted on the bracket 21 is a hook 33 preferably formed of a plasticmaterial, such as nylon, to reduce friction. The hook 33 has a generallyrectangular body 34 conforming with the configuration of the mainportion 27 of the bracket 21 and a lateral projection 35 forming thehook cooperating with a strike 47. The body portion includes a generallyrectangular cutout 36 having inwardly extending tabs 37 and 38 alignedwith and identical to the cutout 28 and tabs 31 and 32, respectively, ofthe portion 27. Also, a pivot pin 39 is positioned in the body 34 toextend perpendicularly from both surfaces of the body and is alignedwith the opening 29 into which one end of the pin 39 extends. I

The lateral projection 35 (FIG. 6) includes a generally rounded orarcu-ate camming surface 41 extending to a high point 42, and a pull-inor retaining surface 43 extending inward from the point 42 to the body34 (FIG. 2). The surface 43 is generally flat with a rounded portion 44adjacent the body 34; the surface 43 being at an acute angle to the edge45 of the body. The hook 33 shown is for a right-hand installation, andto provide for a lefthand installation the hook is turned over and aleft hand bracket 21 utilized.

A compression spring 46 is inserted into the aligned cutouts 28 and 36in the bracket 21 and body 34, respectively, with the opposite ends ofthe spring receiving the aligned tabs 31, 37 and 32, 38. When the hook33 is pivoted around the axis of pin 39 relative to the bracket 21 asseen in FIG. 5, the spring is compressed between the rounded tab 37 ofthe book 33 and the stationary opposite (rhomboid) tab 32 of the bracket21. When the force causing rotation is relieved, the spring 46 returnsthe hook 33 to to its normal position.

A strike 47 is also mounted on the door 11 and includes a strike bracket48 having a lateral arm 49 at one end received within the metal door 11(FIGS. 1 and 2). The arm 49 includes threaded openings 51 for suitablesecuring means such as screws 52. The opposite end of bracket 48 has adepending pin 53 secured thereto and a roller 54, preferably formed of asuitable plastic material such as an acetal, is mounted on the pin 53;the pin being headed below the roller 54 to retain the roller thereon. Asolid pin of metal or plastic may be utilized as a depending member.

The strike 47 is positioned on the door so that the roller 54 engagesthe camming surface 41 of the hook 33 as the door is moved toward closedposition. As the door closes from the position of FIG. 2 and the rollerengages the surface 41, the hook 33 is rotated relative to the bracket21 about the pin 39 against the action of the spring 46 in acounterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 5. When the roller 54 reachesthe high point 42 and passes therebeyond, the pressure against the forceof the spring is reduced and the hook 33 returns to its normal positionrotating behind the strike roller 54, and the surface 43 exerts apull-in force until the maximum strike travel is reached (FIG. 1).

This catch mechanism 13 positively retains the door 11 in closedposition without any additional catch mechanism at the edge of the dooropposite the hinge 12. To release the catch mechanism 13 and open thedoor, the strike is pulled back against the surface 43 again causingrotation of the hook 33 until the roller 54 passes the point 42 and thehook 33 then returns to its initial posi tion. Thus, any substantialforce is only applied to the door during the first few degrees ofrotation in the opening movement.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, a modified catch mechanism 13 and strike 47is shown for use on wooden doors and cabinets. FIGS. 7 and 8 disclose awooden cabinet 55 having a flush door 56 hinged to the cabinet by hinges57. The catch mechanism 13 has a bracket 21 with a horizontal mountingflange 58 parallel but offset from bracket 21 by an offset portion 59.The flange 58 has openings for suitable securing means such as screws 61to secure the bracket to the upper edge 62 of the cabinet 55. Also thestrike 47 has a bracket 48 with a depending flange 63 perpendicular tothe bracket and having openings for suitable securing means 64 to securethe strike to the door 56.

In the present arrangement for a wooden cabinet and a flush door 56, thepin 53 extends upward above the bracket 48 and the roller 54 is abovethe bracket to cooperate with the hook 33 mounted on the upper surfaceof the mounting bracket 21 Operation of the catch mechanism for theseparately hinged wooden cabinet 55 and flush mounted door 56 isidentical with that described for the metal cabinet.

FIGS. 9 and disclose the utilization of the catch mechanism 13 andstrike 47 on a wooden cabinet 55 4 with a recessed door 65 having ahinge 66 for a recessed door. The catch mechanism 13 is the same as forthe flush door 56 except that the flange 58 is partially overlapped bythe door 65, and the strike 47 is identical except that the mountingflange 63 is larger than in the flush door application.

Although the catch mechanism 13, 13 and strike 47, 47* have been shownwith a hinged door where the roller 54, 54 moves along an arcuate path,it is obvious that the mechanism can be utilized for a drawer or asliding door where the strike and roller move in a straight line path oftravel.

Having disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A catch assembly for a movable closure member for a cabinet or otherenclosure, comprising a catch mechanism mounted on the enclosure and astrike mounted on the closure member so that the catchmechanism andstrike are movable toward and away from each other, said catch mechanismincluding a mounting bracket having a mounting flange at one edgethereof, said mounting bracket being positioned perpendicular to theplane of the closure member and having a central elongated cutoutprovided with opposed inwardly extending end tabs and an openingadjacent the edge of the bracket opposite the mounting flange, and apivotally mounted hook having a body generally conforming to theconfiguration of and parallel to and aligned with the mounting bracket,a curved surface at one edge of the body facing the closure member, anda pin projecting from the body adjacent the edge opposite the curvedsurface and received in the opening in the mounting bracket to provide apivotal mounting for the hook on said mounting bracket, said body havinga central elongated cutout with opposed inwardly extending end tabs,said cutout in the body being aligned with the cutout in the mountingbracket, a compression spring received in the aligned cutouts with theends of the spring encompassing the tabs at the ends of the cutouts, anda lateral projection on said body extending beyond said mounting bracketgenerally opposite to the pivotal mounting and having a curved surfacefacing the closure member that is the continuation of the curved surfaceon said body, an arcuate camming surface intersecting said curvedsurface at an obtuse angle, and a retaining surface generallyperpendicular to asid body and intersecting said camming surface at apoint, and said strike including a mounting flange at one end, adepending pin adjacent the opposite end, and a roller rotatably mountedon said pin and adapted to engage and be retained by the lateralprojection on the hook, whereby said hook is yieldably biased by saidcompression spring to a position drawing the closure member to itsclosed position and retaining the strike roller on the retainingsurface, said roller engaging said camming surface during closingmovement and engaging the retaining surface during initial openingmovement to pivot said hook against the force of the spring until thepoint of intersection of said camming and retaining surfaces is passed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,324 4/1910 Mooney 292702,504,540 4/ 1950 Lawless 29278 2,573,096 10/1951 Ender 29278 X2,749,569 6/1956 Sandberg 29278 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,262,246 4/ 1961France.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

JOHN R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner.

